Valkyrie
by Baker Alchemist Strawberry
Summary: Tales abound of the apparition that appears to the dying, desperate and despairing Puella Magi and eases their pain before taking them home. Some call her the Valkyrie. Homura Akemi calls her Madoka. Some call her an angel of death. But there are always tales of the Valkyrie, as long as there are Puella Magi to tell them. And these are some of those tales. T For swearing/violence
1. Tales Told and Stories Spoken

Madoka Kaname.

A goddess, who takes the grief of despairing and dying Puella Magi into herself and purifies them, taking them in her arms to a new place.

Forgotten, gone, vanished. Remembered by only one Homura Akemi, who holds thoughts of her best friend close to her heart. Because if she ever forgets, then nobody will know about her. And when Homura finally passes on, there will be nobody left that remembers her.

However, tales abound in the Puella Magi communities. They always have. And they always will, as long as there are Puella Magi.. By word of mouth, by phone, on message boards, chat rooms, they speculate and tell the tales.

Tales of the Valkyrie, who leads them to the afterlife.

Most scoff at the idea. It's ludicrous at best.

But they all feel something inside that clicks with the idea, even if they can never voice the thought.

And as such, tales will always be told as long as there are Puella Magi in the cosmos.


	2. Tracey Edwards

**Chapter 1 - Tracey Edwards**

* * *

London, England. A blonde haired girl in a mixture of medieval armour and school uniform, blue in colour with golden highlights runs along Piccadilly. Catching sight of herself in a reflective surface gives her an amused smile as always. She always knew watching those old Japanese cartoons so much with her older brother would make her weird. Not like she could help it at the time, but...

Still, she loves running. She always has, ever since she made her contract. Before this life she was bound in a wheelchair, a legacy of a spinal injury they'd said would never be fixed.

But it was, and now she runs as well as anyone. Hell, _better_, because her body is simply stronger than a normal girl's. She can run for miles without being winded badly, she can jump higher than the others.

It's given her a certain level of arrogance, but she thinks it entirely justified. The only time she does not display this is in the middle of a hunt. She's seen what overconfidence can do in battle. How it can turn victory from a certainty into a vague unknown in one swoop.

Her prey is before her, but her Soul Gem is darkened by overuse. She hasn't fought a demon this powerful since a few years ago when the other Puella Magi of her area banded together to fight them. The damned things had kept coming, and it was only a miracle that they'd beaten them down that time.

She knows she is done for. This time there is no backup waiting, no Kate to pull her away from the monster's' jaws. No Chloe to heal her wounds. She's alone. She has no spare grief cubes to cleanse her gem and refresh her magic. She could run away, but she _never_runs away when the demon could attack innocent people.

But a thought stays with her, lurking in her mind; just what happens to those whose soul gems are completely darkened and empty. They disappear, fade into light, just as those who fall in battle do. But there are always tales. And she's seen one die herself, after a long battle. In that last moment of life, Kate's eyes had widened, and she'd given a soft smile and a nod, as if acknowledging something... Maybe even _someone_.

And so, for Tracey Edwards, her situation holds no fear, only a strange and wild exaltation as she jumps and swings her halberd at the demon. She misses and lands, skidding behind it, halberd clattering away and smashing into a shop window. _Oops._

She summons another halberd and throws it, missing again. Canny bastard. A beam of light flies towards her and she holds up her arm, a large shield appearing on it. She holds it up against the beam.

That was her wish. She wanted to be able to protect her baby brother from bullies and from harm, because she couldn't bear to see his tears and feel so _useless_and unable to defend him as she was. So now she defends not only him, but her whole family, her home, as a knight-protector of the city streets, against the demons of grief. The wish manifests in her Puella Magi form as a large shield and the ability to take hits that would cripple another magical girl. Or so she's found.

And yet she feels in her heart it's not going to be enough.

She's proven right as the beam shatters the shield and pierces her body, but she's alive. Grimacing, she wheels out of the way of another lunge and fires off a round of summoned bidents, impaling the creature into the ground in a cage of red spirals. A sardonic grin attaches itself to her face. She really has been watching too much stuff with her big brother.

It only lasts a moment, though, and she can feel the darkness now, in her very soul, pulling at her. The exaltation starting to give way for despair. The hesitation that feeling produces becomes her end as she looks down to find the demon has sliced her belly open with its claws. Her entrails spill out and she makes a vain effort to hold them in.

The demons are always like this. They look human, but they very quickly change into monstrous beasts, and just as quickly change back when they've attacked.

The world comes into clarity like she has never seen before,and she lets out a pained gasp. Somewhere, just beyond the bizarre face of the demon is a figure, smiling at her. Pink hair flutters in the wind.

And the beast is upon her again. Her left arm is severed quickly, cleanly, but there is no pain. Not any more. It lands nearby with a sick thump.

Tracey holds out her remaining hand. She knows what to do. The figure nods with a smile. A large lance forms in her remaining hand, and she swings it around and throws it up, putting every last ounce of her power into it and directing it down towards the demon, and the creature explodes into cubes of blackness, the lance embedding itself in the street..

Tracey falls to the ground and lies there for what feels like hours, but is really only minutes. _This is it_, she thinks. _This is the end._

She closes her eyes and tears fall from her eyes, dripping to the ground and mingling with her blood. She'll never see Jake grow up. He'll not have his big sister there for him. Tom won't have her barge into his room and demand to sit with him while he watches those cartoons she says she hates but really loves, all because it's watching something with her big brother that he loves.

Dad won't be able to give his special smile or cook her favourite breakfast whilst grumbling good naturedly about her demand he do so. Mum won't keep checking up on her at night, even though she's been walking for three years.

Her soul gem darkens to black, and cracks run down it. So many regrets. It's not fair. Why should she have to pay this price? _Why?_

Black despair overwhelms her, and she arches her back as a horrifying feeling of emptiness runs through her, like lightning rushing all through her body but _hollow_and terrifying. And something else, like

And then, just as suddenly it's gone. She sees the blackness flow out of the gem, as if someone had held a grief cube to it, and a hand runs over it, then gently runs through her hair.

She holds her own hand out, and something, someone takes it, pulls her up and dusts her off. She sees her soul gem on the floor shatter, but doesn't feel afraid any more.

"Your duty is finished." The voice is so sweet, like a mother. "Come. It's time." Tracey nods.

The last thing she glimpses before the world turns golden-white is pink hair and a red ribbon. And then, just for a moment she sees her family, sitting at the dining room table, eating supper.

She knows they'll be damaged by her death, but they'll heal. Jake will be fine eventually. Tom will look after him. But it doesn't mean they'll forget their sister. She smiles, and then feels an embrace she's always been waiting for, but never knew she was.

And a pink haired familiar stranger leads her into a world of light.

All they find in the morning is a hat belonging to Tracey, next to a hole that a police officer who re-enacts in his spare time swears was made by a medieval lance.

* * *

**A/N - This is more or less a writing exercise in which I'll tell stories of various magical girls dying and being picked up by Madoka, who as I understand it seems to have become some kind of valkyrie thing after ascending. I think. I hope you enjoy it!**

So that's what this is. It's probably going to be depressing, but at the same time happy because, hey, least they're not turning into witches, right?

I'm going to be mostly writing a series of OC puella magi, but there will be a few familiar faces scattered around. The chapters aren't going to be too long, maybe 1000 words on average. Might be longer if I can actually get writing action scenes better. Not sure how many I'm going to do in between writing lots of other things. This was also posted on spacebattles, so if you're from there, hi, I'm Strawberry there.

**If you enjoyed, don't forget a review! They feed my soul gem!**


	3. Charlotte

**Charlotte**

****Most Puella Magi die in battle, or just after, either exhausting their soul gems and giving in to the despair and regret of leaving their lives behind, or when a lucky hit shatters their gem.

Some do not die in battle. Some simply give in to despair despite the attempts of others to keep them afloat. And others die yet stranger deaths, for magic is no friend of science or logic.

Charlotte, for instance, does not die in battle. She does not exhaust her soul gem through fighting demons. She does not die of despair, as such. In fact, her death is something of an anomaly to the Incubator assigned to her region.

Charlotte dies in the same room that the doctors had always said her mother would die in.

Charlotte is not a very good fighter, even though she is a moderately powerful magical girl. Her inner nature is too sweet and gentle to relish fighting, and the first few fights she was in were close things indeed. Kyubey would not have been surprised even if it was capable. It has happened before. Some Puella Magi exceed his expectations, but others do fall below them. Anomalies are in abundance in a system that relies on emotion to generate energy; after all, emotion is an anomaly in and of itself.

This doesn't mean that Charlotte is a failure, either - she still fights, because that was the price she paid for her wish, and her mother brought Charlotte up to honour her responsibilities.

And to Charlotte, her mother's words are everything. Because she has always been there for Charlotte. And Charlotte was only sickly and of ill health, unlike her mother with terminal cancer and a set amount of time left.

In another universe, the Incubator would have attempted to exacerbate her downfall into a Witch through very specific pre planned acts of cruelty that would ensure the maximum potential of grief, starting with her wish. In this universe, however, Kyubey has a vested interest in maintaining the status of the Puella Magi contracted with it. This is not out of caring for their well being, but a matter of efficiency. A dead magical girl cannot fight demons and therefore cannot gather grief cubes. A magical girl who gives into despair quickly cannot fight. It's simply wasted energy.

The wish was a simple affair - she first stated she wished to share a cheesecake with her mother, one last time. Kyubey pointed out that with such a wish, the despair she would get to balance hope would likely be her mother's death, in accordance with the wording. Charlotte had started crying the moment it had pointed this out, and it waited while she composed herself. Kyubey could spare patience - Charlotte was very young for a potential Puella Magi.

"But then..." The pink-haired ten year old had stuttered quietly, "T-then what d-do I wish for?"

[Simple] Kyubey had responded. [You originally wanted to be able to eat a cheesecake one last time with your mother, yes? But one cheesecake would not satisfy, and the tragedy afterwards would harm you far more. Why not wish for her healed so you may continue to eat cheesecakes with her as long as you are alive?] Interfering with a wish was uncommon, but this was an uncommon scenario. Kyubey reported the incident in a side note and carried on.

A few minutes and a wish later and Charlotte was a magical girl of some modicum of power and an adorable costume reminiscent of candy and desserts. A few mornings after, her mother walked into her room at home with the brightest smile the little girl had ever seen on her face. Charlotte couldn't help but smile back. Her smile widened when her mother brought out a cheesecake with a flourish.

"Just this once, dear." She'd said. "You know you can't eat too much sweet stuff, or the doctors complain."

And at first, Charlotte is a decent enough magical girl. She fights, she cleans her gem, she carries on living and eating sweet things with her now healed mother. When it becomes clear that the young girl is not a very good fighter, Kyubey brings in Mami Tomoe to help train her. Despite her relative newness to being a Puella Magi, Mami has proven an excellent fighter.

Charlotte idolises Mami from the moment she meets her, and for a time all is well again. Mami and Charlotte make a good team. Mami's guidance helps Charlotte meet some of her potential, and Charlotte's company helps keep Mami from feeling as lonely, stopping despair from blackening her soul gem. Kyubey is nothing if not efficient. Charlotte's mother is satisfied that her daughter has found such a mature and reliable friend.

All sides are happy for a while.

It starts with a cough that slowly worsens. Her mother freezes in talking as she watches Charlotte coughing on the floor.

"Are you okay, honey?" She asks, fearing the worst. This is how it started for her. Please don't let my baby girl have it too...

As the cough subsides, Charlotte nods, wiping the tears from her eyes. "I'm okay, Mama, it just hurt." She sits back down on her chair.

Despite the fact that as a puella magi, she should have been able to heal the sickness instantly, it persists, clinging to her body like a parasite.

Still, she tries to fight witches with Mami, until one day she collapses in the middle of a fight leaving Mami to have to rescue her and take her home.

After this, she is bed bound. The doctors cannot analyse it - it's simply like her body is giving up.

Mami and Kyubey both walk into the hospital room. Mami has a sad frown on her face as she sits next to the peacefully breathing Charlotte. The younger girl opens her eyes and smiles weakly at Mami.

"Hello Mami-san." She says and gives a small cough. Mami tries to smile, but it just won't come. She takes Charlotte's hand and gives it a squeeze.

"Charlotte... I'm sorry." The blonde Puella Magi says, looking down. "Even my healing isn't enough."

Charlotte lets out another cough and struggles to sit up. Mami's eyes widen and she tries to help the younger girl up. "Charlotte, you shouldn't..."

"It's okay." Charlotte says, giving Mami a smile. "I'm okay. Look..." She holds up her candy-floss-pink soul gem to her friend and mentor. The gem is very slowly darkening. "It's keeping me alive..."

Mami holds her own up and closes her eyes, trying to use the energy of her own to heal Charlotte again. A small hand on hers stops her and she looks at Charlotte again. The girl's still smiling that sad smile, and Mami's heart breaks as she knows what's happening.

"Mami-san, please tell me that story again..."

Her head shoots up. "The Law of Cycles?" Charlotte nods, settling back and smiling serenely, waiting.

So Mami tells her again of the cycle of Magical Girls, of Puella Magi. How they wish, contract, fight and then disappear. How the legends are told that when they disappear, it is always with a smile.

The legends of the Valkyrie who guides them from the world.

When she's finished, Charlotte is asleep and breathing peacefully. Mami finally lets the tears fall. She's only known Charlotte such a little amount of time, but the cheerful and sweet little girl has wormed her way into Mami's heart.

Yes, she could be selfish, and yes she had a fixation on cheesecake that bordered on obsessive. But she's sweet-natured and affectionate and will give her love to just about anyone.

It's not fair that such a sweet child should have to be a Puella Magi. It's not fair she has to die.

"Don't cry, Mami-san." Charlotte says, opening her eyes.

The blonde stands up and leans over the bed, giving Charlotte a hug. The girl responds by putting her own arms around Mami and squeezing gently back. "It's okay. I'm ready."

Mami pulls back, looking shocked, and Charlotte shakes her head, a sad smile on her face. "The Valkyrie, right?"

"But it's just..."

"A story?" Charlotte interrupts. She shakes her head. "I don't feel like it is. Stories have to come from somewhere. Besides, I got my wish."

"What?"

"I wanted my Mama healed so I could eat cheesecakes with Mama for as long as I'm alive." Charlotte gives a wide smile, but tears are gathering in her eyes. "I got my wish. I'm not afraid."

A ragged sob escapes Mami and she clutches Charlotte to her. Charlotte hugs her back. "It's okay, Mami-san. I'm sorry I'll be leaving you, but you'll find some new friends. You're really nice..."

"Charlotte." Mami says, and she sobs again. "Don't..."

They stay like that for a while, but eventually Charlotte falls to sleep properly and Mami is forced to leave the hospital.

In her darkened room, Charlotte opens her eyes and brings her gently glowing, now almost fully darkened soul gem out. She stares at it for a moment and then closes her eyes, tears escaping them. "Goodbye, Mami-san. Goodbye, Mama and Papa." She wipes her face of tears as the blackness fills the gem. "I wish I could have some cheesecake one more time..." Are her final words as she lies back, cracks running down the crystalline gem in her hands.

A pink glow fills the room, and Charlotte opens her eyes. A pair of hands cups her own, touching the soul gem. A pair of pink eyes full of warmth stares into her own as she blinks and smiles.

"Charlotte."

The voice is sweet; like her mother, or what she imagines an older sister would sound like.

"It's time."

Charlotte nods, and feels the hands pull her up. She smiles as she stands next to the stranger and takes her hand. She looks down at her body.

"Can you leave my body for my Mama? She would be sad if there wasn't one." She asks, tugging on the hand. The pink-haired Valkyrie nods.

"I can and will." She says, and Charlotte smiles sadly.

"Thank you."

The world goes white for her. And then she hears the sound of laughter and she is brought into a tea party. The pink haired Valkyrie is sitting at a table laden with tea and cakes, talking with the other guests. She motions at Charlotte to join them, and the girl runs over happily.

The hospital room is silent, the body of the young girl still.

A nurse walks in to check on the patient and finds she's dead.

But a smile is on her face.


End file.
